The Good Doctor: an analysis from a viewer’s point of view
- Melengers
- Aug 11, 2020
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 17, 2020
1. Why is Dr Neil Melendez’s goodbye a death threat for the show?
2. Analyzing the importance of Claire Browne on Neil Melendez’s life.
3. What will happen now? Season 4 coming up, a fail or a success?
These are some of the questions that The Good Doctor fans ask themselves, but do not have the answer. My name is Valeria Claps and I am 19, born and raised in Antofagasta, Chile. In this paper, I will answer to these questions based on what I have read on social medias since several months. I will share other fans’ points of view and then I will explain what this tv show has taught and showed to me over its three seasons.
Let’s proceed in order:
1. Since the season three finale has been aired, the fans on all social medias (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr…) started expressing their feelings about it and founded the #bringbackmelendez campaign. Many accounts were started to support the movement, and as the days, the months passed, people from all around the world have started joining the campaign. Fighting to prove Dr. Neil Melendez could not die, their petition reached more than 10K signature.
Here there are some of the fans’ complaints:
As shown on those last images, you can easily appreciate how much passionate and implicated in the story these fans are, how worried and desperate they are for news and updates. Furthermore, when you check on any social medias, the comment sections of the last posts from David Shore (director and producer) and The Good Doctor writers official accounts are filled with fans asking and begging for Dr. Neil Melendez’s comeback. As a consequence, we can conclude that if the director and writers of the show do not make this character’s return possible, the fandom will be upset and would probably, if not certainly, stop watching the TV series. In the end, the show ratings would lose hundreds, even thousands of viewers, and this could be an actual nightmare for every producer. Thus, is the death of Melendez a death threat for the show? Of course it is.
Dr. Neil Melendez after the earthquake
2. Secondly, remember how in season one, chapter one, we saw a flirty move from Dr. Neil Melendez to his resident Claire Browne? Later, in the same season, in chapter nine, we witnessed how Claire was the one who unconsciously was making flirting gestures to his boss, Melendez. Well, it did not stop there, Dr. Melendez ended up breaking up with his fiancée (Jessica Preston) in S1, to then having a quick and almost secret relationship with his colleague Dr. Audrey Lim in S2.
During S3, Neil Melendez developed a long-awaited and refreshing friendship with nonetheless than Claire Browne: throughout the episodes, it grew slowly and carefully. After already 3 years of knowing each other, and of sharing an electrifying chemistry, their worlds start to collide in a new way. Everything started with a kind gesture from Neil, but did he have double intentions?
As soon as he had felt that something was not going on well in Claire’s life, he was worried. Hence, we ended up watching the beginning of a love story in the middle of season 3. The slow burn #Melendaire was finally explored: from talking in private places to running together after work, from going to the same gym to playing bowling, from sneaking on secret dinner dates to confessing their love to each other. That’s how Claire’s and Neil’s relationship was born.
Dr. Neil Melendez and Dr. Claire Browne operating together
Were the writers of the show prepared for this? At the end, they made this couple happen, they carefully wrote every line of their love story, and made it a pleasure and a treasure to watch. Most important, they also made Claire’s life one of the saddest threads they could possibly do, instead of introducing her into a kind and respectful relationship, with someone who really cared for her with all his soul: someone who felt like something was happening, as it was meant to be.
Eventually, yes, if the earthquake accident would have not happened, season four would have been about them taking care of their relationship and feelings for each other. That’s why, #bringbackmelendez comes hand in hand with Claire and Neil as a whole, cause the writers, the producers have already wrote them to be happy, they explained how Neil’s desires to be a father, and how Claire’s life needs a bit of happiness once and for all.
3. What will happen now? The filming of season 4 has been delayed, because of COVID-19 sanitary situation, to this August. At least, we know that actors Nicholas Gonzalez (aka Dr. Neil Melendez) and Antonia Thomas (aka Dr. Claire Browne) are currently residing in Vancouver, Canada, where The Good Doctor filming takes place. That could possibly mean that they’re staying there until the shooting of the show begins. Should that be good news? We hope... Actor Nicholas Gonzalez has been spreading some “clues” about the upcoming season. When asked if his character was dead, he answered: «I mean, anything could happen, but yeah... I guess I’m pretty dead». Could he be joking or telling the truth? Most surely, the public and fans will only know once the season 4 teaser comes out.
On the other hand, season 4 will definitely surprise us, apart from Melendez’s supposed death, characters like Morgan (Fiona Gubelmann) and Park (Will Yun Lee) could be saying their goodbyes too. Indeed, Shaun Murphy (Freddie Highmore) is also playing with fire: he thinks he is in love with Lea, his former neighbor that previously affirmed that she could never be with him because of his autism. That’s why, I dare to say that the upcoming season will define The Good Doctor’s future.
Season 3 Finale: the love confession between Neil Melendez and Claire Browne
At the end of the day, everything is on the writers’ hands. They should know what it’s good or bad for the show, what the viewers do enjoy, and what they do not. Because the truth is: if they ruin the show, the only victims would be them. People all around the world have many more tv shows to watch! They have chosen The Good Doctor for a reason. What would happen if the fans lose that reason? I mean, their motivation to watch can be broken just because of a “creative decision” that ended up being a terrible one. It was not the first time in TV history that a show got cancelled because of this exact reason (see the article titled Fictional Death, Real Pain by Audrey Rameau). They have time to fix this, and to save themselves from failing. But, will they?
Comments